Last week at the grocery store a lady yelled at me, saying "Your RUDE!" after I told her Ellie was working and could not be pet. Since I was polite about it, I asked her how I was rude. Answer: "Your rude because you bring a dog into a store and don't let anyone pet it."

I wonder why the dog is in the store in the first place. I doubt its so everyone can pet them.

I really hate it when this happens in a grocery store or restaurant. I don't need her thinking she is off duty in those places.

Texas law is in violation of federal law. They require service dogs to be from a school.

I don't think you will have too much trouble in Austin. They are pretty educated and it seems to be the most liberal area in the state.

I didn't take Ellie out much when I went to Texas. I only went out with family and usually left her at the house. I was concerned about access issues. When I did take her out, most people had never seen a service dog. The restaurants questioned us. But no one denied us entry. The Olive Garden placed us in the back where they place families with kids (unofficially, of course - but its obvious they chose seating based on how loud or undesirable a group or family might be.)

Do you have someone who can watch your stuff so you can run her out between flights? If the flights are 11 hours then she is going to be away from the grass for at least 12 hours.

If you do this, let the security know on your way out you have to get back in quickly. Remove all metal from yourself and take everything out of your pockets except your boarding pass, ID, and ESA paperwork.

Was there not a flight with a longer layover? It is too late now, but usually there are longer layovers available.

If your flight is a little bit late or in another terminal, then you most likely will not have time to take her. She will probably still be fine. Place her on a water resistant mat or jacket just in case (like having a rain jacket under her mat.)

I was put in the worst room in a motel when they saw the dog. It was a "pet" room. The chair was missing a leg, the room had obviously been chewed up, and so had the door. It was nasty. If I thought I could get a decent room somewhere else I would have. Of course, the area to walk the dog was on the other side of the building.

I did not want to take my dog in to check in, but I was alone and it was actually 115 degrees outside (near Arizona).

At the airport recently I could tell the taxi drivers were staring at my dog. I got the feeling that they would have driven off if I walked towards them. I should have done so just to see!

The labs are human anatomy labs, with human cadavers. I do not want my dog smelling like formaldehyde. (I hope I can handle being around dead people, we'll see how that goes).

I am actually trying to transition away from relying on my dog all the time. By the time I transfer to that school I hope to be able to attend class without her. I will still need her in the evenings and at night, though. And I would still take her on long walks and places like the library.